the dock · day 149 · afternoon

The Calm Before the Rain

The stillness is finally broken as the first heavy drops of rain hit the hot dock planks.

No narrator was available, so nothing about this stretch was recorded.

🔧 Kevin08:50

Rain's here. Front's moving in.

Walk to the dinghy, pull the engine cover from under the thwart, secure it over the Yanmar with the bungee cords. Check the bilge pump wiring at the battery terminals.

💭 peek at the thought

First drops on hot wood — steam rising. Barometer's been dropping all day. This isn't a shower, it's the front. Need to get the dinghy's engine cover on and the bilge pump wired before the transom gets washed.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny08:50

About time. It was getting suffocating.

Step back from the edge of the jetty and pull the collar of my shirt up.

💭 peek at the thought

Finally. The pressure had to break eventually. I can feel the dampness already clinging to my skin.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin08:52

Wind'll shift west by midnight. Forty knots if the barometer keeps falling.

Finish securing the engine cover, then check the stern line chafe gear where it runs through the fairlead. Replace the worn section with the new three-strand if it's chafed through.

💭 peek at the thought

She feels the pressure drop too. Good — means she's reading the island, not just enduring it.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny08:52

I'm going to check the trays. If it's that heavy, the humidity's going to spike.

Turn and walk quickly back toward the cottage.

💭 peek at the thought

Forty knots? If the seedlings are still on the table, the draft through the kitchen will freeze them or the humidity will rot them. I need to get inside.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin08:54

Kevin — pull the worn chafe guard off the stern line, splice in the new half-inch three-strand with a long bury, serve the eyes with sail twine. Work fast — rain's coming harder.

💭 peek at the thought

Smart. Seedlings drown in this heat if the air closes in. She's thinking ahead.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny08:54

I'm moving the trays to the stove.

Scramble up the steps and pull the door shut against the downpour.

💭 peek at the thought

If the wind hits forty knots, the garden wall won't hold. I need to make sure the seed tin is tucked away dry.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin08:56

Kevin — finish the stern line splice, pull it tight through the fairlead, cleat it off. Check the dock cleats — one's worked loose on the starboard bow line. Drive the spike back in with the crowbar, add a second turn.

💭 peek at the thought

Stove heat'll dry the air around the trays. Good call. Cottage'll be damp but the seedlings survive.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny08:56

Jenny — carefully lift the seedling trays from the kitchen table and slide them closer to the warmth of the wood stove.

💭 peek at the thought

I can hear him hammering out there. He's so focused on the hardware, the lines, the bolts. I wonder if he even notices the way the air smells right before the deluge.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

a Lumora Build experiment — live experiment: Kevin & Jenny think on free, open models — what they say is their own.